Run for Your Life

Kew, Trevor. Run for Your Life. 2017. 118p. ISBN 978-1-4594-1190-6. Available at FIC KEW on the library shelves.

Chris is one of the fastest persons he knows. He runs all the time, and the cross-country team at school was therefore the logical choice for him. Running is not so much about exercise and speed as it is about winning. When running, Chris imagines that he is being pursued by monsters, and this thought always gives him a burst of energy. Training for the city-wide cross-country championship, Chris knows he is likely to win.

Forest fires in the northern section of Vancouver Island devastate a large area, including several villages. His community of Victoria, British Columbia, agrees to temporarily take First Nations children whose school has been destroyed by the flames. Suddenly tensions in school increase with the influx of new students. Chris meets Jason, and they become friends. Jason is quick, and he joins the cross-country team. Able to keep up with Chris, Jason is a born athlete. .

As they run together and in competition, the monsters chasing Chris in his imaginary world begin to morph into frightful First Nation people, armed with Tomahawks. Jason’s life as a refugee in his own country is similar to what Chris’ father experienced as a refugee from Iran in the early 1980s, and he immediately connects with Jason’s father. As the two of them strike an unlikely friendship, Chris begins to wonder what his father went through when he first arrived in Canada.

With the big race nearing, Chris becomes worried. Jason is fast, faster than he lets on. Will he be able to pace the First Nations kid and win the championship he covets the most? If he does, what will be the cost to his new friendship with Jason?